Wappingers Falls, New York

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Wappingers Falls is a village in Dutchess County, New York, USA. The population was 4,929 at the 2000 census. The name is derived from the local Wappinger Indians.

One half of the Village of Wappingers Falls is in the Town of Wappinger and the other half is in the Town of Poughkeepsie. Wappinger Creek forms the dividing line between the Towns of Poughkeepsie and Wappinger within the Village.

US Route 9 passes through the village, as well as New York State Route 9D.

1 History
2 Geography
3 Demographics
4 Fictional links
5 External links

[edit] History

The area was part of the Rombout Patent. The community was founded around 1659. The Village of Wappingers Falls was incorporated in 1871 and included the adjacent community of Channingville.

The local waterfall was important for early industrial development.

The accusations of Tawana Brawley, then a Wappingers Falls resident, that she was raped there in 1987, gained national prominence.

In another case getting national attention, the defendant in Elektra v. Santangelo, one of the cases where the recording industry attempted legal action against alleged song-file traders, is a Wappingers Falls resident.

[edit] Geography

Wappingers Falls is located at 41°35′57″N, 73°55′5″W (41.599093, -73.918077)^GR1.

According to the United States Census Bureau, the village has a total area of 3.1 km² (1.2 mi²). 3.0 km² (1.1 mi²) of it is land and 0.2 km² (0.1 mi²) of it (4.96%) is water.

Wappinger Creek flows through the village.

As mentioned above, one half (closer to 2/3) of the Village of Wappingers Falls is located within the Town of Wappinger. However the large post office which services both municipalities is located in the Village of Wappingers Falls. Thus both the Village of Wappingers Falls and the Town of Wappinger (as well as portions of Fishkill, East Fishkill, Poughkeepsie and Lagrange)all have the same zip code; WAPPINGERS FALLS, NY 12590. This often results in confusion. The Town of Wappinger is 28 square miles. Truckers and travelers often attempt to locate an address in the 1.2 square mile Village of Wappingers Falls when the location they are actually seeking is somewhere in the much larger Town of Wappinger (or portions of Fishkill, East Fishkill, Poughkeepsie and Lagrange). This confusion is not isolated to visitors. Every day residents of the Town of Wappinger(or portions of Fishkill, East Fishkill, Poughkeepsie and Lagrange) contact the Wappingers Falls Police Department seeking service. This department is employed by and services only the Village. The Town has no Police Department and precious minutes are lost as the calls are forwarded to the Dutchess County Sheriff's Office or the New York State Police. A similar situation exists south of Dutchess County in Putnam County. The Town of Phillipstown is large but mostly rural and sparsely populated. On the bank of the Hudson river in the Town of Phillipstown sits the Village of Coldspring. Once again the Village's Post Offices serves the whole town thus giving them all "Cold Spring Addresses" while the Police Department services only the Village.

[edit] Demographics

As of the census^GR2 of 2000, there were 4,929 people, 1,980 households, and 1,191 families residing in the village. The population density was 1,669.4/km² (4,321.4/mi²). There were 2,119 housing units at an average density of 717.7/km² (1,857.8/mi²). The racial makeup of the village was 82.02% White, 5.98% African American, 0.26% Native American, 3.04% Asian, 5.64% from other races, and 3.04% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 15.05% of the population.

There were 1,980 households out of which 31.8% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 40.5% were married couples living together, 14.8% had a female householder with no husband present, and 39.8% were non-families. 31.9% of all households were made up of individuals and 11.6% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.45 and the average family size was 3.11.

In the village the population was spread out with 24.4% under the age of 18, 10.0% from 18 to 24, 33.2% from 25 to 44, 19.3% from 45 to 64, and 13.1% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 34 years. For every 100 females there were 92.2 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 89.3 males.

The median income for a household in the village was $39,123, and the median income for a family was $50,000. Males had a median income of $38,147 versus $26,607 for females. The per capita income for the village was $20,491. About 10.4% of families and 12.3% of the population were below the poverty line, including 15.1% of those under age 18 and 14.3% of those age 65 or over.